Surgical Component Navigation Systems And Methods

ABSTRACT

A navigation and monitoring system to track positions of surgical components during surgery of a patient. The navigation system includes a power source to emit a tracking signal during surgery of the patient, a first sensor mounted to a region of the patient to respond to the emitted tracking signal, and a control unit to track a position of the region relative to a fixed region of the patient as the region moves with respect to the fixed region, based on the response of the first sensor. The system can calibrate and register a movable reference point of the patient relative to a fixed reference point, and can maintain that reference point when the movable reference point moves in space during a surgical process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No.12/860,635 filed on Aug. 20, 2010, the contents of which areincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present general inventive concept relates generally to navigation ofsurgical components and, more particularly, to systems and methods toassist a surgeon in navigating anatomical regions of a patient toproperly position and locate surgical components, adjuncts, surgicalguides, goggles, dressings, instruments, and other surgical componentsbefore, during, and after injury or surgery of a patient, and fornavigation and use around wounds and surgical sites.

2. Description of the Related Art

The controlled positioning of surgical instruments and other componentsis of significant importance in many surgical procedures and wound careapplications, and various methods and navigation systems have beendeveloped to navigate surgical components relative to a patient duringsurgery. Intra-operative navigation systems are comparable to globalpositioning satellite (GPS) systems commonly used in automobiles and arecomposed of three primary components: a localizer, which is analogous toa satellite in space; an instrument or surgical probe adjunct, guide,goggle, or dressing, which represents the track waves emitted by the GPSunit in the vehicle; and CT scan and/or other data sets such as MRI,PET/CT, or optical data sets that are analogous to a road map of theanatomical structure of the patient. These image navigation techniquesgenerally allow positioning of a surgical instrument within a margin oferror of about 1 to 2 mm, or sub mm accuracy depending on the scan.

Computer assisted image guidance techniques typically involve acquiringpreoperative images of the relevant anatomical structures and generatinga data base which represents a three dimensional model of the anatomicalstructures. The position of the instrument relative to the patient isdetermined by the computer using at least three fixed reference elementsthat span the coordinate system of the object in question. The processof correlating the anatomic references to the digitalized data setconstitutes the registration process. The relevant surgical instrumentsor other components and surgical sites typically have a known and fixedgeometry which is also defined preoperatively. During the surgicalprocedure, the position of the component being used is registered withthe anatomical coordinate system and a graphical display showing therelative positions of the tool and anatomical structure may be computedand displayed to assist the surgeon in properly positioning andmanipulating the surgical component with respect to the relevantanatomical structure.

One of the disadvantages of known systems is the need to maintain properpositioning of surgical instruments relative to movable anatomicreferences when those references are moved during surgery, and to enablesurgeons to properly position surgical instruments in real time whenanatomical reference points are moved during surgery.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present general inventive concept provides systems and methods todigitally register and track movable regions of a patient, enabling asurgeon to accurately position and navigate surgical components such as,but not limited to, surgical instruments, adjuncts, guides, goggles,wound dressings, and other surgical components with respect to referencepoints even when the reference points are moved before, during, or aftertreatment or surgery.

Additional features and embodiments of the present general inventiveconcept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and,in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned bypractice of the general inventive concept.

Example embodiments of the present general inventive concept can beachieved by providing a navigation system to track positions of surgicalcomponents before, during, or after an operation of a patient, includinga power source to emit a detectable signal during operation of apatient, a first sensor mounted to a movable region of the patient torespond to the emitted signal, and a control unit to track a position ofthe movable region relative to a fixed region of the patient as themovable region moves with respect to the fixed region, based on theresponse of the first sensor.

The navigation system can include a second sensor mounted to a surgicalcomponent to respond to the emitted signal such that the control unittracks a position of the surgical component relative to the movableregion as the surgical component and movable region move with respect tothe fixed region, based on the responses of the first and secondsensors.

Example embodiments of the present general inventive concept can also beachieved by providing a navigation system to track positions of surgicalcomponents before, during, or after an operation of a patient, includinga detection unit to detect an LED or electromagnetic signal, a firstsensor mounted to a movable region of the patient to emit a first LED orelectromagnetic signal to be detected by the detection unit, and acontrol unit to track a position of the movable region relative to afixed region of the patient as the movable region moves with respect tothe fixed region, based on the detected first LED or electromagneticsignal.

Example embodiments of the present general inventive concept can also beachieved by providing a method of tracking positions of surgicalcomponents before, during, or after an operation of a patient, includingemitting tracking signals to a targeted region of a surgical site,coupling a first sensor to a movable region of the patient such that thefirst sensor responds to the emitted tracking signals, and tracking aposition of the movable region relative to a fixed region of the patientas the movable region moves with respect to the fixed region, based onthe response of the first sensor.

Example embodiments of the present general inventive concept can also beachieved by providing a navigation system to track positions of surgicalcomponents during surgery of a patient, including a power source to emita tracking signal during surgery of a patient, a first sensor mounted toa region of the patient to generate a first response signal to theemitted tracking signal, a second sensor mounted to a surgical componentto generate a second response signal to the emitted tracking signal, anda control unit to track a position of the surgical component relative tothe region as the surgical instrument and region move with respect to afixed region of the patient, wherein the tracked position is based on atriangulation calculation relative to the first and second responsesignals independent of a shape dimension of the first and secondsensors.

The first sensor can be a digital scanner to read data pertaining to aregion of interest of the patient to adjust existing CT scan data of thepatient.

The navigation system can include a set of navigation goggles worn by asurgeon to display in real-time the position of the surgical componentand/or region during surgery.

Example embodiments of the present general inventive concept can also beachieved by providing a navigation system to track positions of surgicalcomponents, including a power source to emit a tracking signal during anoperation of a patient, a first component mounted to a region ofinterest of the patient, the first component including a first sensor torespond to the emitted tracking signal to provide location informationof the first component, a second component including a second sensor torespond to the emitted tracking signal to provide location informationof the second component, and a control unit to track the locations ofthe first and second components relative to a fixed region of thepatient as the first or second components move with respect to the fixedregion based on the responses of the first and second sensors,independent of a shape dimension of the first or second sensors.

Example embodiments of the present general inventive concept can also beachieved by providing a wound care device to monitor and treat wounds ofa patient, including a dressing to cover a wound of a patient, at leastone detector to measure a characteristic parameter of the wound, and totransmit a signal representative of the measured characteristicparameter, and a control unit to receive the transmitted signal and tooutput a response indicative of the measured characteristic parameter totreat the wound.

The monitoring device can include a sensor device to facilitatecalculation of location information of the monitoring device. Themonitoring device can be part of the navigation system or can be used asa separate component to monitor and treat wounds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned features of the present general inventive conceptwill become more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription read together with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a system environment in which thefeatures of the present general inventive concept may be implemented;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an exemplary guide member includingoptical sensor members in accordance with an example embodiment of thepresent general inventive concept;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an exemplary guide member includingelectromagnetic sensor members in accordance with another exampleembodiment of the present general inventive concept;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a surgical instrument including opticalor electromagnetic sensor members in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the present general inventive concept;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a power source emitter and detectionunit communicating with sensor units configured in accordance with anexample embodiment of the present general inventive concept;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a system environment including ascanning wand and navigation goggles for use in accordance with exampleembodiments of the present general inventive concept;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary set of navigation goggles configured inaccordance with an example embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a system environment including dressingsconfigured for use in accordance with example embodiments of the presentgeneral inventive concept;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary wound dressing configured in accordancewith an example embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wound dressing including a plurality ofsensors to aid in navigation and detection of a variety of parameters toassist in treatment of the wound, according to an example embodiment ofthe present general inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made to various embodiments of the present generalinventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. The following description of the various embodiments ismerely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit thepresent general inventive concept, its application, or uses. The exampleembodiments are merely described below in order to explain the presentgeneral inventive concept by referring to the figures.

The present general inventive concept provides systems and methods ofnavigating surgical components with respect to anatomical regions of apatient, and assisting a surgeon in locating anatomical regions of apatient to properly position and locate surgical components such as, butnot limited to, surgical adjuncts, surgical guides, goggles, dressings,and other surgical instruments and treatment components before, during,and after injury or surgery of a patient, and for navigation and usearound surgical sites. As used herein, the term surgical components isintended to encompass, but is not limited to, all surgical devices,instruments, and components for use in navigation around wound sites,whether used before, during, or after surgery or treatment thereof.

In some embodiments, the navigation system enables a surgeon to track alocation of a movable reference point relative to a fixed referencepoint as the movable reference point moves in space with respect to thefixed reference point during a surgical procedure.

The techniques of the present general inventive concept can beimplemented in conjunction with robots to provide reference in space forsurgical components and wound locations to aid in precision surgery.

In some embodiments, the navigation system utilizes known GPStriangulation methods to determine the location of sensors on both thepatient's body and the surgical component, independent of the shape orsize of the sensors.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary systemenvironment in which the features of the present general inventiveconcept may be implemented. The system environment of FIG. 1 includes anavigation system generally indicated by reference number 10 to navigatesurgical instruments with respect to targeted anatomical structures of apatient 1. The simplified diagram of FIG. 1 illustrates a drillinginstrument 13 for use in an oral surgery procedure and a patient 1. InFIG. 1, the patient is prepared for oral surgery toward a targetedregion of the patient's mandible 19. As illustrated in FIG. 1, themandible 19 is a movable anatomical structure as generally indicated bythe phantom lines and direction arrow in FIG. 1. Since the mandible 19is movable with respect to a fixed reference point such as the patient'sskull or maxilla 15, the mandible 19 is referred to as a movable regionor movable reference point. However, the present general inventiveconcept is not limited to any particular anatomical structure or type ofmovable reference point, nor is it limited to oral surgery procedures.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other anatomicalstructures could be used as a movable reference depending on thelocation and scope of the targeted surgical region, such as head, legs,arms, feet, hands, etc. Accordingly, the present general inventiveconcepts can be used to navigate any type of surgical or medical/dentalinstrument or component, for example, endoscopic systems, suctiondevices, screw devices, guides, wires, syringes, needles, drug deliverysystems, biopsy systems, arthroscopic systems, wound dressings, etc.Furthermore, embodiments of the present general inventive concept may beused to navigate and/or treat any targeted region or anatomicalstructure of the patient's body during any medical or dental procedure,internally or externally, in addition to surgery on the mandible regionas illustrated in FIG. 1. It is noted that the simplified diagram doesnot illustrate various connections, for example, power, ground, andinterface connections to the various components; however, those skilledin the art will recognize the need for such connections and understandhow to implement such connections, based on the components ultimatelyselected for use.

Referring to FIG. 1, the navigation system 10 includes a surgical aiddevice such as movable guide member 11, a power source or emittingdevice 17, and a control unit 16 having a display monitor 8. In someembodiments, the movable guide member 11 can be a customized guidefitted to individual cusps of the teeth including sensors to providetriangulation information for use in navigating craniofacial or dentaloperations. The system may also include a surgical component such as 13to be tracked with respect to the location of a surgical site ofinterest as represented by movable guide member 11. The movable guidemember 11 and surgical instrument 13 can include sensor elements 12 and14, respectively. The emitting device 17 emits a propagating signal tocommunicate with the sensors 12 and 14 to track the location of thesurgical instrument 13 relative to the movable guide member 11. Thus,using a customized guide member 11, for example, it is possible to usethe patient's teeth or dental alveolus as unique registration points(e.g., fixed points) to register the mouthpiece/guide 11 during oralsurgery. It is also possible to form other shapes and sizes of guidemembers, such as but not limited to guidance screws, implants, bandages,dressings, drapes, and the like, and attach them to other body parts toprovide registration points for other parts of the body during othertypes of surgeries.

The emitting device 17 may also include a detection unit 17 c to detectresponses of the sensors 12, 14. Once the responses are detected by thedetection unit 17 c, the control unit 16 utilizes a multi-triangulationconcept to calculate the position of the sensors 12 and 14 based on thedetected responses to tracking signals emitted by the emitting device17. The manner in which the emitting device 17 and/or detection unit 17c communicates with the sensors 12 and 14 to track the position thereofis well known in the art and is therefore only described generally. Insome embodiments, it is possible that the functions of the emitter 17and sensors 12 and 14 may be reversed and/or combined using soundengineering judgment to achieve the same or similar results. Forexample, it is possible for the sensors 12 and 14 to function asemitters rather than sensors, and it is possible for the emitter 17 tofunction as a sensor rather than an emitter. In any case, it is possibleto utilize known triangulation methods to calculate and track thepositions of the sensors 12 and 14 relative to the targeted surgicalfield using the configurations and techniques of the present generalinventive concept. In other embodiments, the navigation system 10 mayinclude an optional imaging device (not illustrated), such as an MRIunit, CT scanner, or other type of imaging device, optical device, orelectromagnetic device, to acquire pre-, intra-, or post-operative orreal-time images of the patient 1, in order to determine locationcoordinates with respect to a fixed portion of the patient's body, forexample, to obtain digital coordinates of the various componentsrelative to the patient's maxilla or skull region 15.

Referring to FIG. 1, the emitting device 17 can generate a trackingsignal which can be received by sensors 12 and/or 14. The trackingsignal may take the form of an infrared light signal (IR),electromagnetic (EM) signal, Bluetooth signal, Wi-Fi signal, or otherknown or later developed wired or wireless signal. In the exampleembodiment of FIG. 1, it is presumed for convenience of description thatthe propagating signal is an LED light signal transmitted from theemitting device 17 to the sensors 12 and 14. In this embodiment, inorder to track the location of the guide member 11 and/or surgicalcomponent 13, the sensors 12 and 14 can function as reflecting markersto transmit light signals received from the emitting device 17 to adetection unit 17 c, such as a CCD camera device. Using the reflectedLED signals, the detection unit 17 c can determine the location of thesensors 12 and 14 based on characteristics such as intensity, refractionangle, etc. of the reflected LED signals, and can inform the controlunit 16 of the location of the sensors in real time based on thecharacteristics of the reflected LED signals. In other embodiments, itis possible that the sensors 12 and 14 can include one or more emittingdevices to emit LED signals directly from the sensors to the detectionunit 17 c. In this case, the position of the sensors 12, 14 can bedirectly tracked by the detection unit 17 c by detecting andcharacterizing the LED signals emitted from the sensors directly, inwhich case the emitting device 17 may not be required. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that many other configurations and combinationsof elements in addition to those illustrated in FIG. 1 could be usedwithout departing from the broader scope of the present generalinventive concept.

During typical dental or medical procedures, the patient's MRI or CTscans may be fed into the control unit 16 to compare the scanned MRI orCT images to anatomical landmarks or reference points fixed on thepatient's head and face to calibrate a location of the fixed referencepoint relative to a target point for the procedure or surgery. In theembodiment of FIG. 1, the patient's maxilla 15 can be used as a fixedreference point. To register the fixed reference point, it is possibleto calculate a position of the fixed reference point with respect to thetargeted surgical field (e.g., mandible region) based on coordinates ofthe patient generated by the MRI or CT scans. It is also possible todirectly register a location of the fixed reference point by mounting afixed device, such as a screw device (not illustrated), adapted toinclude an integrated sensor device to correspond and define a fixedreference point of the patient's skull. The fixed sensor device can thenbe used to communicate with the emitting device 17 and/or detection unit17 c to calibrate the location of the fixed reference point relative toone or more other sensors or reference points of the patient. In thisway, the fixed reference point 15 may be used as a positional referenceframe to determine the relative position of the surgical component 13with respect to the target point of the surgery, and to calibrate aposition of the movable guide element 11.

To carry out a particular surgical process, it may be important to movethe patient's mandible 19 during the process as indicated by the phantomlines and direction arrow illustrating movement of the mandible 19 asdepicted in FIG. 1. Here, the surgeon can attach a surgical aidcomponent such as a movable guide member 11 adapted with a sensor array12 to a portion of the patient's mandible to track movements of thepatient's mandible 19, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2A, the exemplary movable guide member 11 canbe configured in the shape of a semicircular mouthpiece to fit preciselyon the patient's mandible. The movable guide member 11 typicallyincludes a series of holes 122 which the surgeon uses to locate andorient dental implants during oral surgery. The movable guide member 11can be attached to the patient's mandible by way of fasteners 120 and121. The fasteners 120, 121 may take the form of fixation screws, bolts,or pins, but the present general inventive concept is not limitedthereto. Many other types of fastening devices or glues may be used toattach a guide member 11 and sensor 12 to these and/or other movableregions of the patient without departing from the broader scope of thepresent general inventive concept. For example, fixation methods such asintermaxillary fixation (IMF) methods, IMF screws, and the like, can beadapted to include a sensor device in accordance with the presentgeneral inventive concept to track movements of a movable region of thepatient during a medical or dental procedure. It is possible to mount asensor 12 to a guide member such as a bite plate device and/orcustomized guide based on the individual unique cusps of teeth, securedto a lower jaw of the patient by screws. This facilitates using theteeth and/or dental alveolus as unique registration points (fixedpoints) to register the location of the mouthpiece/guide during oralsurgery. It is possible to use other body parts and attachment devices,chosen with sound engineering judgment, to assist with other types ofsurgeries or treatment operations. Moreover, although the exampleembodiment of FIG. 2A illustrates a mouthpiece-shaped guide member 11 toincorporate the sensor 12, the present general inventive concept is notlimited to such configuration, and various other types of sensorarrangements may be used in connection with a variety of other types offixation devices, methods, or splints to track and maintain a movablereference point during surgery. For example, it is possible toincorporate a sensor device into a locating pin or other fasteningdevice, such as a surgical screw, and to attach the pin or screw to thetargeted movable region of the patient to track the movable referenceduring a particular medical or dental (i.e., surgical) procedure.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the guide members 11, 11′ can befabricated from a digital scan for use as fixation assist. For example,the guide members 11, 11′ can be fabricated from a digital scanner, CT,CBCT, MRI, or similar devices to produce individualized tooth-borne (viatooth cusps) template. Other types of guide members can be used toregister other anatomical regions of the body, such as a bone bornetemplate for edentulous mandible, maxilla, spine, hip, etc., or softtissue templates for radial forearm, nose, ear, or other regions. Forexample, it is possible to outfit titanium plates/resorbableplates/titanium screws with already pre-slotted intaglio surface for anavigation plate, screw, etc., and to custom fit templates using platemanufacturers. Thus, the techniques and devices of the present generalinventive concept are not limited to craniofacial use, but can beapplied in dentistry, oral surgery, orthopedics, ENT, neurosurgery, orother surgical fields. The guide members can be sterilized prior tointroduction into the operating room, obviating the need forre-sterilization process.

It is also possible to integrate RFID sensors, and/or other types ofsensors, such as Bluetooth enabled sensors, into a mesh-like bite platedevice, where the sensors are disposed or integrated within the meshconstruct of the device itself. The RFID sensors can be powered by solarcells or other energy harvesting devices, such as RF harvesting devices.The integrated device can then be attached to a movable region ofinterest, such as the patient's lower jaw, to track movements thereofduring an operative procedure. The present general inventive concept isnot limited to the exemplary configurations illustrated and describedherein. To the contrary, a variety of other configurations andcombinations of dental/medical devices can be adapted with a variety ofdifferent sensor technologies (e.g., swarming technology) to carry outthe techniques of the present general inventive concept. For example, itis possible to utilize various combinations of sensor technologies, suchas EM and/or optical, during a single operative procedure, depending onthe particular components and instruments chosen and adapted for use.

Referring to the example embodiment of FIG. 2A, there is illustrated aperspective view of a typical movable guide member 11 adapted to includean array of sensor members 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c to detect light emittedfrom the emitting device 17, in accordance with an example embodiment ofthe present general inventive concept. In this example embodiment, thesensors 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c can function as reflecting markers totransmit light signals received from the emitting device 17 to adetection unit 17 c. The detection unit 17 c can continuously acquirethe position of the sensors 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c and can inform thecontrol unit 16 of the location of the sensors in real time. The controlsystem 16 can compute the position of the movable guide member 11 usinga known multi-triangulation method based on information received fromthe sensors 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c, and can display on display monitor 8an image displaying the position of the movable guide member 11 withrespect to various other components, structures, and reference points ofthe navigation system 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2A, the sensors 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c can beconfigured to extend from an outer surface of the guide member 11 tohelp maintain consistent line-of-sight between the sensors 12 a, 12 b,12 c and the light emitting device 17. Although FIGS. 1 and 2A depict anoral surgery configuration, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the present general inventive concept is not limited to theembodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2A, and that many other shapes and sizes ofguide members 11 and sensors 12 a, 12 b, 12 c may be used to facilitatemounting of such devices on other parts of the body, internally andexternally, and may be used in connection with other types of surgerieswhere it is useful to maintain a movable reference to help locatesurgical instruments or components when the target anatomical structureis moved during surgery.

In the case of dental implants, for example, it is possible to mount asensor array 12 to the movable guide member 11 to facilitate tracking ofthe guide member 11 as the mandible is moved, enabling the surgeon tomaintain consistent and proper positioning of the surgical component 13with respect to the mandible even when the mandible is moved duringsurgery.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the surgeon attaches the movable guidemember 11 and sensor 12 to the target point, such as the patient'smandible 19 as illustrated in FIG. 1. During a surgical procedure, thecontrol unit 16 can track the location of the movable guide member 11and the surgical component 13 in real time, enabling the surgeon tomaintain proper positioning of the surgical component 13 with respect tothe target point even when the movable guide member 11 is moved duringsurgery.

During a surgical procedure, the surgeon may move the surgical component13 with respect to the targeted surgical region of the patient, forexample the mandible 19 area as illustrated in FIG. 1. As the surgeon ismoving the surgical component 13, the control unit 16 can track thelocation of the surgical component 13 via the sensors 14 mounted on thesurgical component 13. The control system 16 can interpret the responsesignals of the sensor 14 to compute the position of the surgicalcomponent 13 using a known multi-triangulation method based on responsesignals of the sensors 14, and can display on display monitor 8 an imagedisplaying the position of the surgical component 13 with respect to thetargeted region of the patient. These techniques enable a surgeon totrack the relative positions of the movable guide member 11 and surgicalcomponent 13 in the targeted surgical field, even when the movable guidemember 11 is moved during the surgical process. Using the presentgeneral inventive concepts, it is thus possible to utilize known GPStriangulation methods to determine the location of sensors on both thepatient's body and the surgical component, independent of informationregarding the shape or size of the sensor to calculation the locationthereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the case where the emitting device 17 emitsinfrared light signals, it is important that the sensors 12 and 14remain in the visual field of the emitted light signals to help produceconsistent and accurate locations of the movable guide member 11 andsurgical component 13 in the control unit 16 as the surgical component13 and guide member 11 are moved during surgery. However, in cases wherethe emitting device does not emit light signals but instead emits EM orother types of RF or wireless signals, it is not as important tomaintain the sensors 12 and 14 in the visual line-of-sight of theemitted signals, as EM and other types of RF signals have the ability topenetrate and communicate with sensors that are not directly in thevisual line-of-sight of the EM or RF source.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of guide member including sensor membersin accordance with another example embodiment of the present generalinventive concept, for example, in a case where the emitting device 17emits EM or other RF-based signals.

Referring to FIG. 2B, in a case where the emitting device 17 emits EM orother RF-based signals, the sensors of the movable guide member 11′ caninclude an array of detectors, such as radio frequency identification(RFID) sensors 12 a′, 12 b′, and 12 c′, to communicate with the EMsignals emitted from the emitting device 17. Unlike the configuration ofFIG. 2A, the RFID sensors 12 a′, 12 b′, and 12 c′ can be mountedinternally with respect to the guide member 11′ as illustrated in FIG.2B. The RFID sensors can be mounted within the internal structure of theguide member 11′ since it is not as important to maintain a directline-of-sight between the sensors and the emitting device 17 due to thepenetrating characteristics of EM and other types of RF signals. Inoperation, the RFID sensors 12 a′, 12 b′, and 12 c′ function to interactwith the electromagnetic field generated by the emitting device 17, andthe control unit 16 can recognize any disruptions in the magnetic fieldcaused by the RFID sensors, enabling the system's computer, which hasspecial tracking software, to recognize the location of the RFID sensorsand its location in the surgical field using a known multi-triangulationconcept based on the interaction of the RFID sensors 12 a′, 12 b′, and12 c′ with the electromagnetic field. Similar to the embodiment of FIG.2A, the control unit 16 can compute the position of the movable guidemember 11′ in real time based on this information, and can display ondisplay monitor 8 an image displaying the position of the movable guidemember 11′ with respect to various other components, structures, andreference points of the navigation system 10.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary surgical component 13including a sensor array 14 configured in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the present general inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 3, the surgical component 13 includes a sensor array14 including sensors 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c. These sensors are configuredto respond to propagating signals emitted from the emitting device 17 totrack the location of the surgical component in the surgical field, inthe manners discussed above. As with sensors 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c,sensors 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c can be configured to interact with LED, EM,Wireless, WiFi, Bluetooth, IR, and/or other types and combinations ofwired or wireless signals in known ways to track the location of variouscomponents associated with the sensors. The sensors can be powered bysolar cells or other energy harvesting devices.

To facilitate attachment of the sensor array 14 to the surgicalcomponent, the sensor array may be mounted in the form of a ring-likeshape to fit around a shaft or neck region of the surgical component 13,as illustrated in FIG. 3. Such a configuration is easily adaptable toany number of different shaped and sized surgical components. However,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the specific means ofmounting the sensors to the various components can be chosen with soundengineering judgment, and a variety of mounting shapes andconfigurations could be used without departing from the broader scope ofthe present general inventive concept. For example, the sensors 14 a, 14b, and 14 c could be integrally mounted and formed in the surgicalcomponent 13 as a single body to communicate with the propagating signalwithout sacrificing proper positioning of the surgical component 13 withrespect to the surgical field. Using the responses of the sensors 14 a,14 b, and 14 c, the control unit 16 can calculate the position of thesurgical component 13 relative to the movable reference region and cantrack and compare the relative movements of the guide member 11 withrespect to the surgical component 13. It is possible to include a slotor other type of holding means in one or more of the exemplary devicesof the navigation system to hold a microSD card or other memory deviceto store or upload data to/from the navigation system.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is possible to configure the sensors 12 and 14to communicate with each other, in addition to communicating with theemitter device 17 and/or detection unit 17 c, to provide additionalinformation about the relative positions of the respective guide member11 and surgical component 13. In this regard, the sensors 12 and 14 arenot required to be the same or similar types of devices, but instead maybe different, wherein the sensors independently interact with one ormore of the emitting devices 17 and/or detection unit 17 c to tracklocation information of the respective sensors. For example, one of thesensors 12 could be configured to include an EM source and a lightreflector sensor, and the other sensor 14 could be configured to includean RFID receptor to interact with the EM field generated by sensor 12.In such a case, the emitter device 17 and detection unit 17 c could beadapted to track the location of sensor 12 by characterizing the lightreflected by sensor 12, and the control unit 16 could be adapted trackthe relative distance between the sensors 12 and 14 by detectingdisruptions in the EM field caused by movement of the RFID receptor ofsensor 14. A variety of other types and combinations of sensors couldalso be used.

FIG. 4 is a simple diagram illustrating a light source and lightdetector in communication with sensor arrays 12, 14 in accordance withan example embodiment of the present general inventive concept. In thisembodiment, to facilitate GPS triangulation calculations, three pointsof reference are used, corresponding to three sensors on each device (12a, 12 b, 12 c and 14 a, 14 b, 14 c). Typically, the sensors 12 a, 12 b,12 c and 14 a, 14 b, 14 c can communicate with the power source 17and/or detection unit 17 c to provide information regarding the locationof the respective devices, as indicated by the dotted lines extendingbetween the sensors and the power source 17 and detection unit 17 c. Itis also possible that the sensors 12 a, 12 b, 12 c can communicatedirectly with the other sensors 14 a, 14 b, 14 c to provide informationabout the relative positions of the devices, as indicated by the dottedlines extending between the sensor arrays 12 and 14. For example, thesensors 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c could be configured to include an EM sourceto emit a tracking signal to the sensors 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c, and thesensors 14 a, 14 b, and 14 c could be configured to include an RFIDreceptor configured to interact with the EM field generated by the EMsource based on the position of the RFID receptors. Accordingly,disruptions or changes to the EM field caused by movement of the RFIDreceptors can be detected by the detection unit 17 c and fed to thecontrol unit 16 (FIG. 1) to calculate and display location informationabout the relative positions of the sensors. Moreover, the use of RFID,Bluetooth, IR, EM, LED, or other types of sensors can be interchanged,mixed, or combined for use with different devices and applications,without departing from the broader principles and scope of the presentgeneral inventive concept. For example, swarming technology can be usedto implement a variety of different sensor technologies (e.g., EM and/oroptical) on a variety of different surgical components and regions ofinterest to track movements thereof during single or multiple operativeprocedures of a patient.

It is also possible to utilize thermography in conjunction with thenavigation techniques of the present general inventive concept toidentify other structures in and around the surgical region of interestsuch as nerves, arteries, veins, and the like. For example, after theRFID sensors track and identify the location of teeth or otherstructures in a surgical region of interest, such as the mandible, it ispossible to identify the location of nerves, arteries, or veins in themandible using thermography, thus providing additional navigationalinformation to supplement the information provided from themulti-triangulation techniques of the present general inventive concept.In other words, it is possible to incorporate thermal imaging camerasinto, or in combination with, the exemplary sensors of the presentgeneral inventive concept in order to detect variations in the infraredradiation of various body parts and to display thermographic imagesthereof. In this way, if the surgeon knows that the artery, vein, ornerve runs along with the vein, the use of thermography can be used toidentify where the canal is, thus providing additional locationinformation in addition to the information provided by the RFID or othersensors. Accordingly, not only can the multi-triangulation concepts ofthe present general inventive concept be used to indicate where a boneyindentation is in the bone, but thermography concepts can also beincorporated into the navigation system of the present general inventiveconcept to help identify and locate the nerve, artery, and/or veinduring surgery.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a system environment including a pair ofnavigation goggles 50 and a digital scanning wand 51 for use inaccordance with example embodiments of the present general inventiveconcept. The scanning wand 51 can be used to superimpose measurementsonto the patient scan data, such as CT scan data. The measurements fromthe scanning wand 51 can be used to supplement or replace patient scandata to enable the surgeon to determine location information of surgicalsites of interest that may be modified or moved relative to the originalscan data. For example, the navigation goggles 50 can interface with thenavigation system, via a wired or wireless connection, to enable thesurgeon to visualize location information of surgical sites of interestin real time during surgery.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary set of navigation goggles 50 configuredin accordance with an example embodiment of the present generalinventive concept. Referring to FIG. 6, the goggles 50 facilitate 3Dviewing of the surgical field with an overlay of the scan. The gogglescan include sensors to sense the blinking of the eyelids and eyemovements to function in part with verbal commands and buttons on theinstruments to control various aspects of the surgical field includingthe 3D viewing experience of the goggles. The goggles 50 can includevarious overlays to display navigation data, such as location ofsurgical components and/or surgical sites in 3-dimensional space,angular information, target points, and the like. Thus, the locationinformation provided by the navigation system can processed and fed tothe navigation goggles 50 in various forms to assist the surgeon invisualizing and locating surgical components and surgical sites as theoperation is being performed. For example, it is possible for thesurgeon to visualize tumors or other surgical sites, to see the depthsof invasion, and to superimpose data from the digital wand and/or CTscan while cutting or performing other operations on the patient.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a system environment including exemplarydressings 70 configured for use in accordance with example embodimentsof the present general inventive concept. Similar to the surgicalcomponents 13 and guide members 11, the dressings 70 can includesuitable sensors, such as RFID sensors, to communicate locationinformation concerning the placement of the dressings 70. The dressings70 can be placed to reference various aspects of surgical andnon-surgical wound dimensions, wherein the wounds orientation andsensors are able to detect the condition of the wound in conjunctionwith navigation. The dressings 70 can include a solar cell or otherenergy harvesting device to power the sensors, but the present generalinventive concept is not limited to any particular type of sensor orpower source. Thus, by strategically placing one or more dressings 70 atvarious locations of interest on or around the patient, locationinformation can be communicated from the dressings 70 to the navigationsystem using GPS triangulation techniques relative to the sensors ofeach dressing, thus providing location information of each dressingrelative to other surgical components or surgical sites of interest. Thelocation information can then be processed by the control unit anddisplayed in various formats to the surgeon via display monitor 8(FIG. 1) and/or navigation goggles 50 (FIG. 6).

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary wound dressing 80 including a tripartitesensor arrangement (similar as described above) to facilitate GPStriangulation calculations and location data of the dressing 80 relativeto other surgical components, surgical sites, and/or other anatomicalregions of interest.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wound dressing 90 including a pluralityof treatment devices to aid in the navigation, detection, and/ortreatment of a variety of parameters to assist in operations of a woundor surgical site, according to an example embodiment of the presentgeneral inventive concept. Exemplary treatment devices are illustratedin a circuit fashion in FIG. 9, with a key indicating some exemplaryparameters for use of the treatment devices, although the presentgeneral inventive concept is not limited to the illustrated parameters,and a variety of other parameters could be used without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present general inventive concept.

The treatment devices of FIG. 9 can be implemented in combination withRFID or other navigation sensors to provide navigation and treatmentinformation respecting a particular wound. For example, as illustratedin FIG. 9, it is possible to provide one or more gas sensors to detectgases such as NO, O₂, CO₂, or other gases in or around a particularwound area. This information can be communicated to the navigationsystem to provide a monitoring component of a particular wound area.Other parameters can also be monitored, for example, temperature, pH,bacteria level, pressure, and the like. It is also possible to provideone or more ultraviolet (UV) devices to detect and/or deliver UV energyto targeted areas of the wound, based on results of the other parametermeasurements and/or detections. Treatment devices may also be targetedto various regions of the dressing using navigation information providedby RFID or other GPS devices of the wound dressing.

While the present general inventive concept has been illustrated bydescription of example embodiments and while the illustrativeembodiments have been described by referring to the drawings, it is notthe intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scopeof the appended claims to the illustrative examples. Additionaladvantages and modifications of the present general inventive conceptwill readily appear to those skilled in the art. The present generalinventive concept in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to thespecific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrativeexamples illustrated and described. Accordingly, departures may be madefrom such details without departing from the spirit or scope ofapplicant's general inventive concept.

1. A navigation system to track positions of surgical components,comprising: a power source to emit a tracking signal during an operationof a patient; a first sensor mounted to a movable region of the patientto respond to the emitted tracking signal; and a control unit to track aposition of the movable region relative to a fixed region of the patientas the movable region moves with respect to the fixed region, based onthe response of the first sensor.
 2. The navigation system of claim 1,further comprising: a second sensor mounted to a surgical component torespond to the emitted tracking signal such that the control unit tracksa position of the surgical component relative to the movable region asthe surgical component and movable region move with respect to the fixedregion, based on the responses of the first and second sensors.
 3. Thenavigation system of claim 2, wherein the first and second sensors eachcomprise at least three receptors to interact with the emitted trackingsignal, and the control unit tracks the position of the surgicalcomponent relative to the movable region using a triangulationcalculation based on the interaction of the at least three receptors. 4.The navigation system of claim 2, further comprising: a detection unitto detect the responses of the first and second sensors such that thecontrol unit tracks the movement of the movable region and the surgicalcomponent based on the detected responses.
 5. The navigation system ofclaim 4, wherein the first and second sensors each comprise at leastthree reflectors to reflect the emitted tracking signal, and the controlunit tracks the position of the surgical component relative to themovable region using a triangulation calculation based on the reflectedsignals of the at least three reflectors.
 6. The navigation system ofclaim 2, wherein the first sensor comprises an emitting unit to emit asecond tracking signal to the second sensor, and the second sensorcomprises a receptor unit to respond to the second tracking signal suchthat the control unit tracks the movement of the surgical componentrelative to the movable region based on the response of the receptorunit to the second tracking signal.
 7. The navigation system of claim 1,wherein the first sensor comprises at least three RFID, Bluetooth, LED,or WiFi receptors to interact with the emitted tracking signal, and thecontrol unit tracks the position of the movable region using atriangulation calculation based on the interaction of the at least threereceptors.
 8. The navigation system of claim 1, further comprising: asurgical aid component fixedly mounted to the movable region, whereinthe first sensor is coupled to an outer surface of the surgicalcomponent and is oriented to maintain a visible line of sight with theemitted tracking signal.
 9. A navigation system to track positions ofsurgical components during surgery of a patient, comprising: a detectionunit to detect an optical signal; a first sensor mounted to a movableregion of the patient to emit a first optical signal to be detected bythe detection unit; and a control unit to track a position of themovable region relative to a fixed region of the patient as the movableregion moves with respect to the fixed region, based on the detectedfirst optical signal.
 10. The navigation system of claim 9, furthercomprising: a second sensor mounted to a surgical component to emit asecond optical signal to be detected by the detection unit such that thecontrol unit tracks a position of the surgical component relative to themovable region as the surgical component and movable region move withrespect to the fixed region, based on the detected first and secondoptical signals.
 11. The navigation system of claim 10, wherein thefirst and second sensors each comprise at least three optical emittersto respectively emit first, second, and third light signals to bedetected by the detection unit, such that the control unit tracks theposition of the surgical component relative to the movable region usinga triangulation calculation based on the detected first, second, andthird light signals.
 12. The navigation system of claim 10, wherein thefirst sensor comprises an emitting unit to emit a tracking signal to thesecond sensor, and the second sensor comprises a receptor unit torespond to the tracking signal such that the control unit tracks themovement of the surgical component relative to the movable region basedon the response of the receptor unit to the tracking signal.
 13. Thenavigation system of claim 9, further comprising: a surgical componentfixedly mounted to the movable region, wherein the first sensor iscoupled to an outer surface of the surgical component to maintain avisible line of sight with the light detector as the movable region ismoved during the surgery.
 14. A method of tracking positions of surgicalcomponents during a surgical process of a patient, comprising: emittingtracking signals to a targeted region of the surgical process; couplinga first sensor to a movable region of the patient such that the firstsensor responds to the emitted tracking signals; and tracking a positionof the movable region relative to a fixed region of the patient as themovable region moves with respect to the fixed region, based on theresponse of the first sensor.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein alocation of the fixed region is based on a scanned image of the patient.16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: coupling a second sensorto a surgical component to be used in the surgery such that the secondsensor responds to the emitted signal; tracking a position of thesurgical component relative to the movable region as the surgicalcomponent and movable region move with respect to the fixed region,based on the responses of the first and second sensors; and displayingan image of the relative positions of the surgical component and movableregion.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the displaying an image isperformed by a set of navigation goggles to be worn by a surgeon. 18.The method of claim 16, wherein the first sensor comprises an emittingunit to emit a second tracking signal to the second sensor, and thesecond sensor comprises a receptor unit to respond to the secondtracking signal such that the control unit tracks the movement of thesurgical component relative to the movable region based on the responseof the receptor unit to the second tracking signal.
 19. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the coupling of the first sensor to the movable regionof the patient comprises: fixedly mounting a surgical aid component tothe movable region; and coupling the first sensor to the surgical aidcomponent.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first sensor iscoupled to an outer surface of the surgical aid component and isoriented to maintain a visible line of sight with the emitted signals asthe movable region moves with respect to the fixed region during thesurgical process.
 21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first sensorcomprises at least three RFID, Bluetooth, LED, or WiFi receptors tointeract with the emitted tracking signals, and the control unit tracksthe position of the movable region using a triangulation calculationbased on the interaction of the at least three receptors.
 22. Anavigation system to track positions of surgical components duringsurgery of a patient, comprising: a power source to emit a trackingsignal during surgery of a patient; a first sensor mounted to a regionof the patient to generate a first response signal to the emittedtracking signal; a second sensor mounted to a surgical component togenerate a second response signal to the emitted tracking signal; and acontrol unit to track a position of the surgical component relative tothe region as the surgical instrument and region move with respect to afixed region of the patient, wherein the tracked position is based on atriangulation calculation relative to the first and second responsesignals independent of a shape dimension of the first and secondsensors.
 23. The navigation system of claim 22, wherein the first sensorcomprises a digital scanner to read data pertaining to a region ofinterest of the patient to adjust existing CT scan data of the patient.24. The navigation system of claim 22, further comprising a set ofnavigation goggles worn by a surgeon to display in real-time theposition of the surgical component and/or region during surgery.
 25. Anavigation system to track positions of surgical components, comprising:a power source to emit a tracking signal during an operation of apatient; a first component mounted to a region of interest of thepatient, the first component including a first sensor to respond to theemitted tracking signal to provide location information of the firstcomponent; a second component including a second sensor to respond tothe emitted tracking signal to provide location information of thesecond component; and a control unit to track the locations of the firstand second components relative to a fixed region of the patient as thefirst or second components move with respect to the fixed region basedon the responses of the first and second sensors, independent of a shapedimension of the first or second sensors.
 26. A wound care device tomonitor and treat wounds of a patient, comprising: a dressing to cover awound of a patient; at least one detector to measure a characteristicparameter of the wound, and to transmit a signal representative of themeasured characteristic parameter; and a control unit to receive thetransmitted signal and to output a response indicative of the measuredcharacteristic parameter to treat the wound.
 27. The wound care deviceof claim 26, wherein the dressing includes at least one delivery deviceto deliver a treatment element to a selected region of the wound basedon a location of the measured characteristic parameter.
 28. The woundcare device of claim 27, further comprising an energy harvesting deviceto power the at least one detector and the at least one delivery device.